SEARCA News

In celebration of the 17th National Biotechnology Week, SEARCA teamed up with the Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO) for the “Biotechnology for Green Recovery” webinar held on 22-24 November 2021. With thematic sessions focused on agriculture, bioeconomy, and scientific infrastructure, the webinar series aimed to incite critical discussions towards the creation of a policy environment that will further promote the development of bio-based industries. The first thematic session titled “Biotechnology in Achieving a Resilient and Progressive food System,” was led by plenary speaker, former DA Undersecretary for Policy and Planning, Dr. Segfredo R. Serrano. From a policy standpoint… Read more

Six scientific papers that constitute the December 2021 issue of the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) recommend various policy interventions that support rural communities vulnerable to climate change impacts, threatened ecosystems, food insecurity, and malnutrition.    Dr. Jikun Huang and his co-authors, in their paper “Rural Adaptation to Climate Change: New Findings and Existing Knowledge”, state that policy support should increase the resilience of farming systems and the adaptive capacities of farmers across Asia. These policies must be developed in the context of structural land-use changes that have occurred because of urbanization and the diversion of water supplies… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, The Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) jointly organized a two-day virtual regional consultation titled “Engaging with Academia and Research Institutions (ARIs) to Support Family Farmers and Food System Transformation During and Post COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia.” Held on 8-9 December 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live, this  was attended by international participants coming from different academic and research institutions (ARIs),  nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs), government agencies, and development partners. The consultation was held… Read more

The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) virtually conducted its 34th Executive Board Meeting on 16-17 December 2021 hosted by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. The meeting was attended by representatives from its six (6) regular members, two (2) associate members, four (4) affiliate members, and its Secretariat. The Consortium welcomed its newly appointed officials from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI). These are Prof. Budi Guntoro, S.Pt., M.Sc., PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Animal Science, and Dr. Hatma Suryatmojo, S.Hut., M.Si, Head, Center… Read more

Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines – For the second time this year, selected higher education institutions (HEIs) took on the challenge to enhance their relevance and competitiveness in the 21st century by participating in the “Leadership Development Program for HEIs (LDP HEIs) in the Philippines.” Organized and implemented by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in partnership with The HEAD Foundation in Singapore, this second run of the program was held from 4 October to 29 November 2021 via the SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagements (SOLVE) platform. The program is designed under efforts… Read more

A joint undertaking between the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Center of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN), in partnership with the Kansas State University (KSU) and the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), conducted the 1st and 2nd sessions of the e-training program titled, Trainers’ Training for Integrating the School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement Enterprise in ATPs and Mini-ATPs in Cambodia (SHGBEE-Cam) on 1 and 8 December 2021, respectively, via the platform, Zoom. This collaboration generally aims to boost the capacity of teachers and local government… Read more

The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) will hold its 34th UC Executive Board Meeting online on 16-17 December 2021, hosted by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. The Consortium is anticipating the virtual attendance of representatives from its Regular Members, Kasetsart University (KU), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), IPB University (IPB), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and Universitas Brawijaya (UB). Also attending the board meeting are the two UC Associate Members, Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI) and National Taiwan University (NTU), and Affiliate Member, University of British Columbia… Read more

National Taiwan University (NTU) hosted the 7th UC Graduate Forum on 2-3 December 2021 with the theme, "Agricultural Adaptation Strategies for Coping with Climate Change." The event was attended by select graduate students from member universities, NTU, IPB University, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Kasetsart University (KU), Universitas Brawijaya (UB), and Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI). New Affiliate Members, Visayas State University (VSU), Central Luzon State University (CLSU), and Maejo University (MjU) also sent their students to join the forum, which marks their 1st activity with the UC. The… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) collaborated with the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN Asia) for a regional discourse titled "Paying for Nature and Society: Dialogue on Innovative Financial Mechanisms to Promote Equity and Sustainability in Agriculture – Asia." Held on 16 November 2021, the virtual dialogue is second in a series of regional discussions across the globe to understand how to incentivize farmers to protect and restore nature. Dr. Dindo Campilan, Asia Regional Director and Oceania… Read more

“Change is inevitable, we have to live with it. Leaders should anticipate the change. Be more creative, innovative, and work toward overcoming the negative effect of that change…deal with it,” thus said, Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman, SEARCA Senior Fellow, Professor Emeritus, and former President of the University of the Philippines, and one of the Resource Speakers during the 37th SOLVE webinar on SOLVE Leadership Challenges: Redefining   Effective Leaders for Tomorrow. Held on 24 November 2021 via the SOLVE platform, the webinar formed part of SEARCA’s 55th Anniversary Celebration with the theme “Sowing Seeds of Innovation for Agricultural Transformation.” Dr. Roman… Read more